Hi, ,Well, I can officially and emphatically say getting a liver transplant was NOT on my 2024 bingo card, and yet here we are, a little over a month post-op. Three words remain on loop about this experience: absurd, bizarre, and surreal. I hadn’t ha...

Hi, ,There was a time when I thought to be a successful author, I had to be a distinct "persona" for my audience, something specially curated. There were all sorts of rules about what I could and couldn't do, what I should and shouldn't talk about, a...

Hi, there, !I hope you're doing well. First and foremost, I want to thank you for being part of the SJF Books newsletter regardless if you've just joined or have been with me for years. Some of you have come here through in-person appearances, becaus...

Hi, ,I've been an author for a while, and one of the things I've realized is being an author means being an influencer. But beyond that, learning influencer skills can help beyond social media or being An Influencer™. These skills can be applied in a...

Hi, there, !I hope you're doing well. First and foremost, I want to thank you for being part of the SJF Books newsletter regardless if you've just joined or have been with me for years. Some of you have come here through in-person appearances, becaus...

Hi, there, !I hope you're doing well. First and foremost, I want to thank you for being part of the SJF Books newsletter regardless if you've just joined or have been with me for years. Some of you have come here through in-person appearances, becaus...

Hi, ,I hope 2022 has been going well for you so far. It's amazing that we're over halfway into February already, especially with everything going on in the world. I hope you all have been able to keep level and find joy where you can, and maintain yo...

Hi, there, !What. A. Year!2021 had so much promise for everyone after the upheaval of 2020, but I think a lot of that 2020 energy carried over into 2021. At least for me, it did. However, I have to believe 2020 prepared us to navigate peaks and valle...

Hello, ,I truly hope all has been well. For the most part, it has been for me. Been working hard on my end, particularly with editing projects and Charleston's Black Ink Book Festival. It will be virtual this year, too, and we're incredibly excited t...

Greetings, ,Here in the States, particularly where I live, it's Back to School time, which means there is a level of anxiety already part and parcel with returning to school. But this year, along with the added pressures of a pandemic still raging, t...